Memorials of Connecticut Judges and Attorneys
As Printed in the Connecticut Reports
volume 29, page(s) 604-605

FRANCIS PARSONS

FRANCIS PARSONS was born in the town of Amherst, Massachusetts, on the 16th
of February, 1795. His father was the Rev. David Parsons, D. D., for nearly
forty years the pastor of the First Congregational Church there. His mother was
a sister of Hon. Thomas S. Williams, for several years Chief Justice of this
state. He graduated at Yale College in 1816, and after spending a year and a
half as a teacher in Virginia, entered the law office of Judge Williams, then a
practicing lawyer at the Hartford bar, and upon his admission to the bar settled
in Hartford, where he always afterwards resided.

I can not give a better sketch of his professional and general character than
is given in a brief memoir of him prepared for circulation among his friends by
Rev. E. P. Rogers, D. D., of Albany, a kinsman of the family, from which I take
the following extract:

"After his admission to the bar he steadily pursued the practice of law, and
for more than forty years was engaged more or less in business. He soon rose to
eminence as a sound lawyer, judicious in counsel, honorable and high-minded in
the management of his cases; always frank and courteous in his deportment
towards those who were opposed to him in court; never allowing himself to use
any of the arts of the pettifogger; kind and considerate towards his juniors;
moderate in his professional charges; and through all his professional career
establishing the reputation of an able lawyer and an honest man, at the same
time and on an equally durable foundation. He never encouraged needless
litigation and always advised an amicable settlement of cases whenever it was
practicable.

"Mr. Parsons never sought the distinctions or the emoluments of office. He
was singularly unambitious, and never courted popular favor. Yet whenever it
seemed to him to be his duty to sustain public trusts, he never shrunk from
labor or responsibility. He served the public faithfully as city attorney, in
the legislature, and on the bench of the county court. In all these public
stations he exhibited the same industry, integrity and fidelity which were the
leading features of his character in all the business of life.

"Hartford, which for more than forty years was his residence, has always been
distinguished for its general intelligence, its high standard of business
integrity, and its elevated tone of christian morality. It has always numbered
men of the highest excellence of character among its citizens. To fill a high
position in such a community is no ordinary tribute to any man. Yet it is not
claiming too much for Mr. Parsons to say that he always stood among the first
men of the city. To none were more important trusts committed, of a public and
private character; no man enjoyed more of the confidence of his fellows; none
were more thoroughly identified with all great enterprises of public utility,
philanthropy and benevolence, and none have left behind them a purer record. His
heart and his hand were always open to every good cause; his voice and pen
always ready for the defence of truth and the maintenance of principle. With a
heart most keenly alive to all the amenities and charities of private and social
life, with a most sympathetic nature and loving spirit, he was yet, in the
defence of what he deemed right, firm even to sternness, and steadfast as the
everlasting hills. Forgiving and forbearing to the last in private and personal
relations, in his public trusts and duties he was the bold, uncompromising
champion of truth, and the determined foe of any thing like guile or injustice.
The only enmities which he ever provoked were from those whose vices or crimes
it was his duty to rebuke or to punish or whose lawlessness he was called on to
restrain. And in regard to them he always had integrity and firmness enough to
prefer `the praise of their censure, to the censure of their praise.'

"They who knew Mr. Parsons only as a public man, though they saw much to
command their respect and confidence, yet could have no adequate conception of
the finer and more winning traits of his character in the social relations of
life. To know him best it was necessary to see him in the domestic circle and
among his friends. He was a most affectionate husband and a tender father. His
hospitality was unbounded. He delighted in the society of his friends, and
always made them welcome to his dwelling. His manners were frank, affable and
simple. He enjoyed social life with zest, and was fond of wit and humor, yet had
the keenest sensibility to what was touching and pathetic. A story of distress,
or any incident calculated to reach the feelings, would at once excite his
sympathy and bring a tear to his eye. His pecuniary gifts, both to objects of
public utility and of private charity, were really munificent; and it was often
a matter of wonder to his friends, how, with his comparatively moderate fortune,
he could give away so much. His kindness to the poor was one of the most
remarkable features of his character. He not only gave his money to the needy,
but he gave his time, and his counsels, and kind words that were often more
valuable than money. He visited them when sick, counselled them as to their
temporal affairs, and often kneeling by their side invoked upon them the
blessings of Heaven. His loss is felt not only in the forum and the varied walks
of public life, but in many lowly dwellings, and his memory will be long
cherished with grateful affection in the hearts of the poor."

AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
The State of Connecticut is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

, Connecticut State Library. All rights reserved.
Further reproduction, publication, or dissemination is limited to fair use
by individuals for private purposes and research only, and may in no way
be further reproduced except with the specific written permission of the
Connecticut State Library.